Extended reality (XR) interventions in supporting children with autism: A systematic review.
TL;DR
It is suggested that although large-scale longitudinal studies are needed to demonstrate longer-term efficacy, scalability, and real-world implementation, XR technologies have significant potential to benefit autistic children in educational, therapeutic/rehabilitative, and assessment.
Abstract
Objective
This study aims to synthesize the evidence on the role of extended reality (XR) in supporting children with autism.
Methods
We followed PRISMA guidelines. We searched PubMed, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, and ProQuest Central for studies published between 2005 and March 2026. A total of 21,979 records were retrieved from the literature search, and 115 studies met the inclusion criteria.
Results
There was a significant increase in XR autism research after 2020, with virtual reality (VR) as the largest modality (n = 61, 53.0%), followed by augmented reality (AR) (n = 36, 31.3%). Hybrid systems were the most common functional category (n = 49, 42.6%), followed by training and educational systems (n = 29, 25.2%), therapy and rehabilitation systems (n = 20, 17.4%), assessment systems (n = 13, 11.3%), and. Mobile or tablet-based delivery, avatar-based interaction, motion tracking, AI integration, and physiological sensing were most frequently reported technical characteristics. Most studies reported positive outcomes related to engagement, social communication, emotional recognition, adaptive functioning, and rehabilitation participation.
Conclusions
Overall, this review suggests that although large-scale longitudinal studies are needed to demonstrate longer-term efficacy, scalability, and real-world implementation, XR technologies have significant potential to benefit autistic children in educational, therapeutic/rehabilitative, and assessment.